hylobiidap:. 633 



Group Hylobiidae. 

 Bryocatus Broun. N.Z. Inst. Bull. 1, Part III, p. 218. 



4208. Bryocatus niticoUis sp. nov. 



Convex, broadest near the shoulders ; aeneo-niger, legs piceous, antennae 

 and tarsi dull black ; rostrum and thorax more obviously glossy than 

 elytra ; sides of thorax with some didl greyish scales, similar ones form a 

 large irregular mark on each elytron from the side, before the middle, 

 towards the suture, another extending from the apex as far as the hind 

 thigh has its central portion bare. 



Rostrum as long as thorax, a third of its width, moderately arched, 

 apparently smooth, with some grey setae near the extremity. Head rather 

 broader than rostrum, globose underneath, brassy at its sides. Eyes large, 

 obliquelv oval, slightly prominent in front. Thorax of equal length and 

 breadth, widest and almost straight from the base to the middle, gently 

 narrowed towards the truncate apex. Scutellum invisible. Elytra sub- 

 cordate, twice the length of thorax, very gradually narrowed from the 

 shoulders to beyond the hind thighs, more strongly narrowed and deflexed 

 behind, in line with the shoulders they are nearly double the width of the 

 thoracic base, which they seem to overlap ; they are finely striate, with plane 

 interstices, but near the base they are more coppery and minutely rugose. 



Femora robust ; tibiae flexuous, mucronate inwardly, the anterior pair 

 especially, and finely denticulate inwardly, they are nearly covered with 

 grey squamae and dark setas ; tarsi with prominent setae. Scape slightly 

 flexuous, funiculus normal, with a few dark setae. 



Underside dark castaneous, with obscure greyish squamae. Basal 

 ventral segment depressed along the middle, nearly double the length of 

 second, the suture slightly sinuate but definite, fifth foveate behind. 



Not quite as large as B. amplus (3612), but more convex, without elytral 

 nodosities, and qaite glossy. The sculpture of the thorax consists of small 

 squares ; some of these are irregularly angulate, but all are flat and fit 

 neatly together. This minutely tessellate appearance will enable it to be 

 at once separated from every recorded species. 



Length (rostrum inclusive), 3 J mm. ; breadth, l^mm. 



Near Lake Rotoiti, Nelson ; 28th December, 1915. One example, from 

 Mr. T. Hall ; another, received subsequently, but much mutilated, was 

 mounted on its back. 



4209. Bryocatus iridescens sp. nov. 



Subovate, only moderately convex ; the elytra, and a streak between 

 the middle and each side of the thorax, covered with flat grey squamae ; 

 remainder of thorax and the rostrum nigrescent but beautifully iridescent ; 

 elytral interstices with very few depressed dark setae, the legs with grey 

 scales and dark setae, tarsi and funiculus black, with similarly black setae, 

 the scape nearly glabrous and nitid. 



Thorax slightly longer than broad, oviform, rather narrower in front 

 than behind, its base oblique towards the sides. Elytra quite cordate, 

 double the length of thorax, a little wider behind the shoulders than 

 elsewhere, the base oblique towards the sides and a fourth broader than 

 that of the thorax ; they are finely striate, the suture is depressed at the 

 base but slightly and obtusely elevated as far as the top of the declivity, 

 third and fifth interstices slightly wider than the others and nearly plane ; 

 on each elytron, near the declivity, there is an irregular, dark, brightly 

 iridescent spot. 



